


Puppet to Puppet Master

by poisonous_panda



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Betrayal, Costlemark, Gen, Grief, Imprisonment, Murder, Sacrifice, Starscourge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 11:23:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15242298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisonous_panda/pseuds/poisonous_panda
Summary: Somnus gets the Oracle of the time to imprison Ardyn at the bottom of Costlemark Tower at the cost of her life (when you fight the Jabberwocky, look up. Don't you think the device in the ceiling looks a lot like the pyramid shaped contraption that suppressed Noct's Armiger in Chapter 13?). The Oracle of the time was originally betrothed to Ardyn so their marriage could be a symbol of the battle against the Scourge, but now Bahamut has intervened and Somnus is replacing Ardyn in pretty much every way possible. But what happened when Ardyn got out earlier than expected? Somnus certainly loses something he holds dear





	Puppet to Puppet Master

Shirtless, barefoot and bloodied, the disgraced would-be King - Ardyn Lucis Caelum, originally born from the House of Izunia - was led down a series complicated, cube-fashioned elevators to what was designed to be his tomb.

With his hands cuffed behind him with handcuffs crafted from the finest Solheim technology, his powers - both the daemonic and the natural ones in his bloodline - were utterly suppressed. Flanking him from either side were soldiers from his brother's elite military unit. Neither said a word, nor even glanced in the fallen would-be King's direction when he tried with all his might to battle against the cuffs and bright red runes glowed across the metal to keep Ardyn's magic within. 

It was a sad state of affairs, the soldiers had known Ardyn well before his Fall, as they had served both brothers previously. Now they were acting as if the man between them was nothing but a mindless soulless monster.

Down and down they went in an uncomfortable silence.

Awaiting them at the bottom in a huge cavernous room with metal walls, a metal ceiling and a metal floor that was completely incongruous with the stone structure above it, was Ardyn's brother Somnus. And by his side, was Ardyn's ex-bride, the Oracle. 

Ardyn couldn't take his eyes of her, long blonde hair flowing down her back, and kind ocean-blue eyes that were holding back tears. He cared for her and her daughter deeply, while not yet in love, their marriage was meant to be a symbol of hope for the populace. Ardyn was fully prepared to step up as a stepfather to the Oracle's child as well. A holy union of the Chosen King and the Priestess of the Gods designed to show their devotion to their people and be their guiding light in the fearful Darkness. Now it would never be. All because of Ardyn's 'corruption'.

Tearing his eyes from the beautiful Priestess and boring his golden gaze into his brother's, Ardyn was the first to speak, and his words echoed around the giant room.

"Brother, I am not a monster." A simple phrase, but the words carried a lot of weight.

"Maybe so," the younger of the two men answered, "But it is a risk neither of us are willing to take." Somnus motions to the Oracle. Then she speaks.

"With the Revelation of Bahamut, there is hope. But you must await your descend-"

"HIS descendant!" Ardyn venomously cuts her off and violently nodding at his brother, for he had no children himself.

A curt nod from Somnus to his soldiers stopped the argument dead in it's tracks, and the muscular men either side of the fallen would-be King hoisted him to his feet by his shoulders. Ardyn was powerless to fight back, thanks to the Solheim technology binding him.

The soldiers strapped Ardyn to a large metal sarcophagus kind of thing, however it was shaped so Ardyn had to stand rather than lie down. 

Restrained and aware of what awaited him, Ardyn began to panic.

"Brother, you could not simply leave me down here and continue to live out the rest of your life?! Seal away your own flesh and blood for eternity?!" The panic made the Scourge appear in the corners of Ardyn's eyes, and he could taste it bubbling up in his throat. "You knew all I ever tried to do was help the people!"

"Be calm, dear Ardyn," the Oracle spoke as soothingly as she could, despite the tears in her eyes threatening to betray her real feelings, "When the prophecy is fulfilled, all in thrall to Darkness shall know peace." Those words cut Ardyn deep, the use of the word "thrall" entailed that he had _chosen_ this. Those words would also stun Ardyn a second time, in a couple of millennia when he would bring about the death of the Final Oracle at the Tidemother's Alter. 

Ardyn just shot her a poisonous look.

"Just await the Chosen's birth, Bahamut has promised us your salvation." the Priestess tries again to reassure her betrothed.

"I AM THE CHOSEN KING!" Ardyn screamed, the Scourge oozing down his chin and flying out of his mouth as his eyes began to glow a brilliant gold, "These are lies! All lies from a jealous little brother!".

Somnus didn't bother to answer. The brothers had already had this conversation back when Bahamut revealed himself to them both, back when Ardyn presented himself to the Crystal once he could no longer heal the people; the Scourge had strangled his healing powers and replaced them with far unholier ones and Bahamut was less than pleased. Ardyn thought it meant his duty as Healer was fulfilled and all that was left was to take his rightful place as the First King of the Kingdom of Light. But he was very wrong. When the Draconian decreed that Somnus shall replace Ardyn as the Founder King of the Lucis, the Kingdom of Light, Ardyn began to suspect they were in it together just to unseat him.

"You know the price of sealing me away!" Ardyn turns his hatred to the Oracle, the only one who could deliver his punishment, "You seal me away and your life is forfeit! Have the Gods not taken enough lives?!"

The Priestess lowers her gaze to the floor and tightens her grip on her Trident, "I am sorry, but for the good of the people, the Scourge must be kept at bay. I have already entered into the covenant with the Draconian."

"You wait until I get out! You can't keep me here forever! Death has no power over me!" Ardyn practically screeched at the two of them, all thoughts of maintaining his composure gone. Panic, grief, betrayal and disappointment gripped his mind and his heart.

At this, the Oracle smiled.

"I know. And I pray your deliverance will be swift."

"Can we get on with it please?" Somnus impatiently asks. He hated seeing his brother so angry, but Ardyn could not see what Somnus was doing was for the greater good. And Bahamut had already promised his salvation, so it was purely a waiting game. The work fell to Somnus to create an heir and keep the Izunia bloodline going, each birth getting closer to freeing his elder brother from his curse.

"Very well," the Priestess nodded piously, "Do not let the Scourge grip your heart Ardyn, for we are all only puppets to the Gods entrusted to carry out their Will."

"Betraying your friend for the 'greater good', the mark of a monarch." Ardyn bitterly spoke aloud, aiming his words at both his brother and the Oracle, for they were both a King and a Queen in their own lands.

The soldiers closed the solid metal door on Ardyn's makeshift sarcophagus and walked over to their King's side. There was a little glass window on the door at the perfect height for Ardyn to continue looking out at his brother and betrothed. However, no sound came out no matter how much Ardyn roared.

Somnus walked over to a small table covered in buttons - it was some form of complicated system to run all of the technology in the room from the air coolers to Ardyn's sarcophagus doors to who-else-knew-what - and pressed a button. The door Ardyn was sealed behind made a heavy clunking noise, signifying that it had locked itself, then Somnus pressed another bigger red button.

Above the group, in the centre of the high ceiling, four giant metallic plates began moving. They all had lines of red lights horizontally covering the plates, and eventually they were jointed together to form a massive upside down pyramid shape. More clinking and thudding was heard within the pyramid before all the noise settled, then all that could be heard was a steady, gentle humming.

Ardyn and Somnus felt the effect immediately. Even without his cuffs, Ardyn knew he was powerless. Whatever was within that pyramid was suppressing both of their powers.

"You can thank the Draconian for that." Somnus glumly tells Ardyn while pointing upwards. His voice seemed to move straight through the sarcophagus holding his older brother, yet not a single sound Ardyn made came out, "He knew exactly how to suppress our Armiger because our power is born from his own,"

While it was no secret that the Draconian's ties to the Izunias ran deep, it was still quite murky HOW deep it ran. All that was known was that without the Draconian, the Izunias would never have evolved into the Lucis Caelums.

The Oracle then took centre stage. All eyes were on her as she held her Trident vertically in front of her and rested her forehead on the pole. Softly, she began singing. Her voice was like an angelic choir - gentle yet commanding. There was also a sense of sorrow.

For Ardyn, the sound was horrifying. He knew what it meant. It was the Song of the Stars, the tune an Oracle sings when communing with Gods or casting extremely powerful magic. He would hear it yet again at the Tidemother's Alter in two millennia when the Final Oracle summons the Hydrean.

As the Priestess of the Gods continued her song, her entire body began to glow golden; her white-blonde hair stained by such power took on an ethereal yet comforting hue. Ardyn began banging on the door in what little space he could. How could the Priestess willingly sacrifice herself and not only place the burden of healing the populace on her daughter, but deprive said daughter of ever experiencing her mother's love again?!

The Oracle's voice got louder and began to unnaturally echo until finally, she burst into millions and millions of tiny yellow and white orbs. Ardyn screamed within his sarcophagus and Somnus looked away. Ardyn was unsure if he cared about the Oracle's fate, or maybe he was still capable of feeling guilt of remorse.

The golden glowing orbs encircled the Priestess' Trident and appeared to fuse with it. Then the weapon remained stationary, but still levitating despite it's owner's soul having departed this world.

Somnus stepped forward and grabbed the Trident in the centre of its pole. Turning to face the little window in his older brother's sarcophagus, he merely nods because anything he wanted to say died in his throat. He knew Ardyn would never forgive him, but he knew Bahamut had decreed his salvation. Somnus now had his own duty of continuing the bloodline to ensure the prophecy is fulfilled.

Turning his back on his brother on what he hopes isn't the final time, Somnus walks out of the metal chamber, flanked by the two soldiers, clutching the Trident in one hand and running his thumb over the bottom of the Ring of the Lucii in the other hand. The little crystal in the piece of jewellery would soon house his soul, and every one of his descendant's souls until - finally - Ardyn can rejoin his family in everlasting peace.

Nobody heard the heartbroken animalistic roar from the Fallen King within his tomb. He knew what was going to happen now. The Trident was the key, infused with the Oracle's soul it would seal shut a massive metal vault at the start of Ardyn's prison, and the Priestess' magic should prevent people from entering for generations. Or stop Ardyn from getting out.

\-------

The young boy slept soundly in his bed, his black hair splayed out around his head on his pillow. Surrounded by stereotypical plushies a child of his age would want, he was oblivious to the man standing at the end of his bed. Nor would he understand the relation. 

It was his Uncle. The one the boy never knew he even had.

Ardyn's history had died when the Oracle did several decades ago, and so had the guards who accompanied Somnus to Ardyn's imprisonment. The Founder King could allow no risks in his elder brother ever being found before the Chosen was born. 

The Forgotten King watched his nephew sleep soundly, and felt the smallest bit of pride. They were family after all.

"Are we not all but puppets of the Gods, dear nephew?" the wine-haired man asks the sleeping boy, a hint of humour in his golden eyes shining from under the brim of his fedora.

Stalking out of the young boy's room, Ardyn found his way to his little brother's. When he found him in his double bed beside his wife, he smiled cruelly. In a way, he felt slightly grateful to his little brother for indeed carrying on their bloodline. Maybe he did want Ardyn to be saved after all? But only when it didn't get in the way of the greedy little wretch stealing his title and his kingdom.

Strolling to the wife's side - Ardyn's sister-in-law who he hadn't known existed until today - the Forgotten King held his hand just above her mouth. A small pulse of dark energy shot from his outstretched palm and shot down her throat. Without opening her eyes, the mother of Ardyn's nephew began panting and clutched her throat. Panic rose in her and her eyes were squeezed shut as she struggled to catch her breath while the Scourge tore her apart from the inside. She was feeling what Ardyn had felt every time he healed somebody before his banishment.

In a matter of seconds, her skin was ashen-coloured. The Queen of Lucis was dead. And Scourge residue was bleeding down her face from her closed eyelids and from either side of her parted lips.

Smirking wickedly to himself, Ardyn gently pushed the side of her head so that her Scourge-ridden face was facing her sleeping husband, then made his way round to the other side of the bed. 

Gently nudging Somnus on the shoulder, the brothers locked eyes for the first time in decades.

Somnus had more grey in his usually jet black hair than Ardyn remembered, and there - nestled in his peppered hair - was the stone Crown of Lucis that was originally crafted to sit in the waves of Ardyn's own naturally volumised hair. The sight of it alone made Ardyn want to strangle Somnus as he slept. There was also a significant increase in the amount of wrinkles on his younger brother's face. But he was still Somnus nonetheless.

"Good evening, little brother." Ardyn smiles with false warmth.

Somnus snaps his eyes open and attempts to sit up, but Ardyn pushes him back down.

"Now now, don't get up on my account. I just wanted to see how my dear sibling was doing. I've been rather bored you see," Ardyn subtly winked as his daemonic energy bound Somnus to his bed while the younger brother shot a venomous glance at him, "Oh don't looks at me like that." Ardyn knew Somnus couldn't attack him, not only had he bound his brother's body, but he had bound his powers too.

"The Chosen has not yet been born Brother, away with you." Somnus glares at his older brother from his bed, every word attempting to be heavy with command.

"Is your boy not the Chosen then hmm?" Ardyn asks, placing his forefinger on his chin in mock thought.

"You leave my boy out of this!" Somnus shouts. Nobody else hears. Ardyn has had decades to hone his daemonic power and so he'd 'frozen' time within the Citadel so only he and Somnus were capable of movement and thought.

"Could you really stop me if I chose not to?" Ardyn teased nastily, "How do you know I haven't already dealt with him and ended your beloved Draconian's prophecy?"

Somnus seemed to visibly panic, then erupted in fury despite being stuck on his back.

"Ardyn if you have so much as harmed the boy I will kill you myself!"

Ardyn chuckled viciously. 

"Oh how helpless would you feel if I told you he's already lifeless in his bed among his teddies?" Ardyn lied, enjoying seeing Somnus believe his world had fallen apart.

"When your own Beloved died you were helpless watching, powerless to stop it yourself!" Somnus shot back at Ardyn, referring to the Oracle who gave her life to imprison him.

Ardyn's playful exterior shifted, his expression turned dark and sinister.

"So were you." he whispers evenly, every syllable deliberate and menacing as the Forgotten King used two fingers to push Somnus' face away from him and in the other direction - to see the full horrors of his deceased wife. 

Ardyn took great delight in the scream that burst from Somnus, enough so that he released his power's grip on the younger brother to allow him free movement.

In an instant Somnus was on his knees on the bed shaking his wife, wailing in utter grief.

"If you think that's bad," Ardyn cruelly teases while straightening the rim of his fedora as he walks out of the bedroom, "Don't forget to check on that son of yours."

With that he was gone. Well, physically at least. Ardyn was still there in reality, just invisible to the eye. Another trick he picked up from the Scourge running through his veins.

The elder followed his sibling as the younger man tore into his son's bedroom, and the elder watched from the doorway as Somnus scooped up his sleeping son and squeezed him in such a tight hug that the young boy woke up. Confused words were exchanged from the young sleepy boy and the weeping King, and Ardyn watched it all. 

In this one act, Ardyn had secured his brother's hatred and ensured his family would continue their bloodline until the Second Chosen King was born. Whether Ardyn would kill him to spite his useless family and the greedy Gods, or allow him to succeed so he could finally die know peace, remained to be seen.

One thing was for sure though: Ardyn Izunia was no longer anyone's puppet.

Now, he was the Puppet Master.


End file.
